Ironhide's Little Obsession
by The Official Demonator
Summary: He loved her more than anything in the Universe. She loved him more than words could ever describe. The only thing standing in their way was her father. Can they ever find peace or will their family be torn apart by something as ironic as love?
1. Happy Birthday

**Rated T for minor sexual 'innuendo'.. well.. not really, but idk. Some people get a little weird about that, so im just putting it out there! xD**

**Ratings may change (higher to be more specific, but i haven't decided yet. :P )**

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><p>From the time Annabelle was just a baby, Ironhide knew one day, when she was older, taller and smarter, he wouldn't be able to resist her. He'd often talked to Ratchet, one of the few mechs he could discuss just about anything with, about his feelings and thoughts. Sometimes the medic would appreciate his words, and sometimes he would disregard them.<p>

_"If Will ever heard you talking about his daughter like that," the CMO began, "he'd have you deported on the next NASA shuttle launch."_

_"She's only seventeen now," Ironhide told him through that semi-thick, almost British accent. "but in a month, she'll be eighteen. A woman who is fit to make her own decisions without holding daddy's hand."_

_"And yet you're still a trillion years older than she is," the medic scoffed. "Get that head of yours out of your aft."_

That was a month ago and now Ironhide stood tall in his holoform mode, watching as Annabelle received hugs, congratulations, presents and cards for her eighteenth birthday. Of course, to the rest of her family, he was just a friend of Will's, but to Will, Sarah and Annie, he was their family guardian. Their alien friend from Cybertron.

Having no money meant that Ironhide couldn't get Annabelle a present. He'd gone through seventeen of her birthdays where Will and Sarah bought his present to her for him and they'd offered to do it again, but he'd simply shook his head and said, "I'll think of something."

But that _something_ that he had in his mind was something Will _and_ Sarah would _not_ like. One bit.

But, she was eighteen years old now and that meant she could practically do whatever she wanted without their consent and Ironhide knew her long enough to know how she'd react when he offered his _present_ to her. He smirked. It was only a matter of time before he asked her.

He was so deep in thought, he hardly noticed her walking up to him, a massive smile across her almost flawless face. Her blue eyes sparkled in the Sun's light and her lips, despite the dryness of the outside weather, were soft and moist.

"You're very talkative today," her sarcastic remark and grin made him smile.

He chuckled, "I'm just examining things is all."

She looked around. "Examining _things_? As in.. the party? Because," she shrugged with a smirk. "I dunno. I saw you 'examining' a little more than the party."

Knowing he was caught, he knew he might as well follow along. "Can I be blamed?"

"No," she laughed. "but if daddy heard half of the things we talk about, you know he'd lay an egg."

Ironhide frowned at the phrase. Why did humans have to be so.. complicated? Why couldn't they just flat out say things instead of making him feel like he was in the Da Vinci Code where he had to solve the mystery?

"Your father needs to understand that you are a woman now. You're of age to talk about whatever it is that pleases you," Ironhide explained, making her smile, her gracious blue eyes squinting. "Why do you always look at me like I'm an idiot?"

Her jaw dropped while she laughed at the same time. "'Hide, I don't think you're an idiot! I'm just smiling because you're right and you're just.. so over protective of me. I love it."

"You know," Ironhide began, his spark beating a little faster than normal. "if it weren't for us being surrounded by your family, I'd have you all over me," the last few words came out as a low growl and Annabelle shuddered at them.

"Don't worry," she winked. "you'll have your chance."

He watched her turn around and walk away, replaying her words over and over again in his head. Imagining things he knew he shouldn't be. Frag, what was it about her that had him so love-struck? He shuddered a little unexpectedly as he watched her walk away.

He locked eyes with Ratchet, who was standing not too far away. The medic only shook his head and turned around, making conversation with some of Will's family.

**Later that evening**

Annabelle made her way out to the garage where Ironhide slept. Everybody was gone by now and he had requested her presence. She was a little disappointed that he hadn't gotten her anything, but she knew he didn't mean any harm. Unless, she thought, he planned on giving her a present in the garage?

She began to wonder, if that were the case, what he could have gotten her. Before she had time to think too much, she had already opened the garage door. The automatic light kicked on, but Ironhide was nowhere inside.

Suddenly, bright lights kicked on from behind her and she gasped and spun around. She squinted through the lights, realizing they were Ironhide's headlights. He shut them off as he pulled up next to the garage. "Get in," he spoke through the radio as he opened his passenger side door. "I want to take you for a ride."

She obeyed and got in, making sure to close the garage door first. "Where are we goin'?" she asked as soon as he started moving.

"Tahoe," he simply stated.

Annabelle raised an eyebrow. "Lake Tahoe? Why there?"

"It has the best view," he told her. "I want to get there before sunset."

She had a feeling what was going on, but she just shook it off. She smiled, "What're we gonna do?"

_If I can control myself, not much_, he thought to himself. Then, he replied. "Just relax, Annie. We'll be there shortly."

For the rest of the ride, she didn't say a word. She only listened to the music that poured from Ironhide's speakers. She began to sing along to a couple songs. Her voice made him tremble. He loved her voice. Finally, before he could over heat, they had arrived at the lake and sure enough, the sun was still hovering above the horizon. They were just in time.

Activating his holoform, he opened the door for her, allowing her to step outside. The air around them was surprisingly cool. Ironhide took her hand, to her surprise, and the two of them walked to the shoreline of the lake. Sitting down on the beach, he then wrapped his arm around her.

"You know," she began, smiling over at him. "You always did know how to make me feel special, Ironhide."

He smiled at this. If only she knew she made him feel the same way. "A woman as beautiful, courageous and smart as you deserves no less."

"Thank you," she said, allowing her body to lean against his.

With smiles still softly layered over their faces, they watched together as the sun slowly dipped under the Sierra Nevada. The snow-peaked mountains never glowed so brightly in this wonderful moment as Annabelle gently placed a hand on Ironhide's cheek and pushed her own lips to his.

When they pulled apart, he sighed, "Happy birthday, love."

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><p><strong>It's kinda short, but they'll eventually get longer. :)<strong>


	2. Poker Face

**My OC Jillian Abendroth will be in this story, but this is kind of "alternate universe". I'm pretending that Annabelle and Jill never met.. so.. in this story, Jillian is just a friend and not a love interest of Ironhide. Just letting you know just in case you've read my Jillian and Ironhide multiple-oneshots story. :)**

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><p>As Ironhide opened his eyes groggily, he was surprised to see that he was covered in sand. Wait, <em>sand?<em>! He sat up abruptly, examining his surroundings. The sun was now rising and it all came back to his processors. He looked down next to him and sighed with relief. At least she was okay.

Annabelle was sound asleep, curled into a ball with a thick blanket on top of her that he had previously stored in his pickup bed. Then Ironhide realized something..

Will was going to _freak_ when he found out Annabelle was out all night, slept on a beach.. and not just any beach.. a beach with her family guardian! He panicked, but then stopped. For Primus's sake, he was the weapons specialist! He didn't _get_ scared, but when it came to a pissed off Will Lennox, he was _terrified._

"Annie," Ironhide said, poking her side. "Annabelle, sparkling. Wake up,"

Her eyes fluttered for a moment and then they got extremely wide and she sat up. "Oh, _shit_," she breathed out, her hand covering her mouth as she looked around. Realizing that she wasn't wearing exactly _all_ of her clothing and she was giving Ironhide a _wonderful_ show, she quickly covered up with the blanket again. "We weren't supposed to stay out _this_ late,"

"Might as well deal with it," Ironhide huffed out. "Either way, your father is going to scream at me.."

"I thought you didn't care what he thinks," Annabelle glared.

"I _don't_," Ironhide growled. "We'll.. we'll just tell him that I took you here for the sunset, and you fell asleep in the back seat and I fell into recharge. There. Perfect excuse!"

"Oh _yeah?" _Annabelle growled. Then, Ironhide watched as she looked around her. "Then you _might_ wanna find my _clothes first!_"

If Ironhide could have gotten pale, his paint job would've been pure white. His holoform quickly snapped his head and looked around. Where the frag could her clothes have possibly wound up at? Then, he froze.

**Flashback**

_Ironhide had ripped Annabelle's clothes off with so much ferocity and passion, he couldn't help himself as he threw them all behind his head, not even caring where they ended up._

**End flashback**

_I thought I heard a splash, _Ironhide thought to himself as he looked out to the open water and saw something that looked strikingly like fabric floating just on top. "I'll.. I'll think of something," he closed his eyes and groaned, running a hand down his face.

"But, with that aside, I didn't realize how much of a strong.. lover you are," she giggled.

Ironhide looked amused as he lifted his head to look at her. "You should've know that already. It's my nature, love."

Annabelle smirked, but then she frowned. "It's getting hot under here. You better find me some clothes _fast. _I can't go home like this.."

"I have an idea," Ironhide nearly yelled from joy. He reached a hand out to her. "Can I use your cell phone, Annie?"

Annabelle raised an eyebrow and glared at the same time. "Take a wild guess where my cell phone was, 'Hide."

Ironhide's spark dropped. "In your jeans pocket?" When she nodded, he groaned louder this time. "Slaggit! We're fragged." Then a little light bulb in the back of his processors glowed bright. He snapped his fingers from the sudden realization. "Wait! I got it," he stood up and quickly got changed. Then he helped her up, making sure the blanket was still wrapped around her.

"Where are we going?" she asked as he continued to pull her.

Instead of answering right away, he helped her climb inside his alternate mode and then he dashed to the other side. Getting in the driver's side, he slammed his door, started his engine and peeled off the beach. "We're going to use Ratchet's phone and then we're going to visit a friend."

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><p>Not too far from the Lennox residence, a new military base had been installed for minor Autobot storage. That way they would be close to Will if anything bad were to happen. Ratchet, of course, was still given his own medical bay (even though he had about two more in two different places) and like usual, he was always found inside it, working long hours on things just to keep himself busy. He hated being bored.<p>

**:Ratchet, I'm on my way to the med bay.:** Ironhide

An amused look crossed Ratchet's face as he heard Ironhide's trembling, almost panicked voice enter a comm link. Then he glared. What the frag did he want now? **:Why?:**

**:Long story. Will explain when I get there. Ironhide out.:** Ironhide

Ratchet rolled his optics. _Wonderful,_ he thought to himself. _Can't a CMO get some work done around here?_ Then he began to think. This could _just_ be the amusement he needed. It was a rare thing to hear Ironhide so troubled and Ratchet _loved_ it.

He smirked, continuing his work until the weapons master got there.

Sure enough, within the next ten minutes, Ironhide was pulling into the med bay. Ratchet, with two raised eye ridges, examined Ironhide's alternate mode and discovered he was not alone. Activating his holoform, Ratchet walked over to the parked Topkick as Ironhide's holoform got out. "I need to use your phone, Ratchet. I know you got one somewhere in here."

Ratchet snorted, "Why would I let you use my phone?" Then he nodded towards the back door of the Topkick. "Who is in there?"

Ironhide growled, "because if you don't, I'll blast your sorry aft to the moon. And it isn't any business of yours who is in there."

Ratchet folded his arms and gave a harsh look to his old friend. There was no way Ratchet was going to let him use his phone if Ironhide was going to talk to him _that_ way. "Fine. Don't tell me. No phone, then."

"Annabelle," Ironhide held out a hand. "Phone, now."

Ratchet growled again and marched over to Ironhide's alternate mode. Before Ironhide could lock all of his doors, Ratchet was faster and opened one. He gasped when he saw the young woman wrapped in a thick blanket, "_Annie_? Where in the _pit_ are your clothes?" He shot a scowl at Ironhide. "You're a glitchhead! If Will finds out what you're doing-"

"He'll blow a fuse. He'll fly off the handle. He'll have a fit. He'll kill me. He'll eat me for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I know this, Ratchet," Ironhide sighed. "I just need to use your phone."

Ratchet folded his arms. "For what?"

"To call Megatron!" Ironhide replied sarcastically. "What do you _think_? I didn't come here to play twenty questions, medi-bot."

Ratchet scowled and unfolded his arms. He pointed to his desk. "It's over there. Make it snappy, too. I'm busy."

"Yeah, yeah," Ironhide mumbled as he dashed to the phone. Picking it up, he dialed the number and waited. "Jillian?" Ironhide questioned loudly. "I need your help,"

"Who's Jillian?" Annabelle asked Ratchet quietly, a pang of slight jealousy enveloping her insides.

Ratchet whispered back, "Jillian Abendroth. A good friend of your father's and mother's. You haven't met her yet as far as I know. Ironhide lived with her when you were very little for a while."

"Was she a-"

"Love interest?" Ratchet finished for her. Annabelle nodded. He shook his head. "Not really. Ironhide had minor feelings for her, but she just wasn't up for the same thing."

Annabelle only nodded in response. She turned her attention back to Ironhide and so did Ratchet. "Really? You can do that for me? Oh, thank Primus, Jillian. You're a spark-saver. Okay," he nodded. "I will arrive shortly. Thank you." He hung up. Grinning, he spun around and headed back to his alternate mode. Climbing in, he started his engine back up. "Thanks, Hatchet," he said as he back up and out of the med bay.

Ratchet, who had been walking back to his desk, spun around and glared at the nickname, but Ironhide had already left. _That's the last time I ever let him use my phone._

As Ironhide sped through the base, going around buildings and humans as if he were in a race and had to speed between and around orange cones, he was stopped by an abrupt call of his name. "Hey, Ironhide!"

Ironhide jammed on his brakes from the surprise, making Annabelle fly forward in the back seat. She had been laying flat on her stomach, hoping nobody would see her. Her face paled. She recognized that voice instantly. Ironhide was trembling.

Ironhide could feel her gently caressing his seat with her hand, trying to help him calm down, but nothing was working. Multiple excuses filled his processors as Will and Rob Epps walked towards him. He rolled his window down.

"William, Robert," Ironhide nodded to both of them. "Is there a problem?"

Will wasn't able to catch Ironhide's nervousness, but Epps did. Epps raised an eyebrow at Ironhide and Ironhide stared back at him with wide eyes, as if saying, _save me!_ Rob seemed to notice this and peaked in the back window. When he saw what appeared to be a human shape under a blanket, he tried not to freak out as well. Epps was also one of the few people to know of the mech and Colonel's daughter.

"No, no problem," Will chuckled. "I was just wondering if you could give me a lift home. Sarah left early and took the car."

"Uh, I'm not.. um, going straight home, Will," Ironhide told him. "I'm stopping by Jillian's for a few."

"Oh!" Will exclaimed, making Ironhide jump from the volume of his voice. Ironhide mentally slapped himself. He needed to calm down. "Okay, that's cool. I guess I'll just have to tag along, then," he laughed.

Ironhide's spark nearly failed at those words. He glanced at Rob, as if signaling for help. Rob, being as smart and sneaky as ever, jumped in. "Lennox, I thought we were goin' to the poker tables?"

"You never mentioned it to me before?" Will gave him a confused look.

"I didn't?" Epps laughed a little nervously. "Must've thought I did, but forgot. Come on," he gently punched Will's arm. "Unless ya scared you're gonna lose some cash to Robert Epps," he grinned. "After all, I _am_ a better poker player than you are and my poker face is the best around."

Will smirked, "Yeah, we'll see about that." He sighed and looked at Ironhide. "Alright, never mind, 'Hide. I'll catch you later."

"Yes," Ironhide cleared his throat. "Sure thing, Will. Bye,"

Will watched his family guardian speed off, leaving dust behind him. "He's actin' a little weird, isn't he?"

Epps shrugged. "Beats me," but deep inside, Robert _did_ know Ironhide was acting weird. He only laughed to himself and shook his head. "Come on, man. Let's go play some cards."

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><p>Woo! Thank Primus for Robert Epps! ;) Ironhide would've been slagged to the deepest depths of the pit for sure.<p>

Thanks for the reviews. :) I love them!


	3. Jillian Abendroth

**I gotta make my chapters longer! But, for now, this one's a bit more laid back. Don't worry, there'll be some conflict soon!**

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><p>It didn't take long before Ironhide was pulling into the driveway that lead around the side of the house to Jillian's backyard. As soon as he pulled up, she was already waiting for them outside. Jillian smiled when she walked down her deck steps to greet Ironhide.<p>

"Where is she?" she laughed as she took him in for a hug.

"In the back," he told her after pulling away.

Jillian went over to the back door and opened it. Annabelle, sweating to death with a thick blanket still wrapped around her, smiled weakly as she made eye contact with Jillian. Jillian laughed, "Oh dear. Come on in, Annie," When they got inside, Jillian pointed to some clothes on the table. "This is for you. I dunno how well it'll fit, but if it doesn't, I have other stuff."

Annabelle's slender arm peaked out from beneath the blanket and took the sun dress sitting on the table. She smiled, "Thanks, Jillian. It's nice to meet you."

Jillian grinned. "No problem. Glad to finally meet Will's daughter." She watched as Annabelle walked up the steps before she turned to Ironhide. "You're so dead," she chuckled. "Sleeping with Will's daughter? Are you insane?"

Ironhide rolled his eyes. "Oh for Primus's sake," he mumbled. "What are we? Ratchet's alter ego, now?"

Jillian shook her head with a smile, "Glad to see he's getting on your case about it as well. Speaking of, how's he been?"

The holoform squinted an eye at her. "I always knew you had a thing for Ratchet," Ironhide grumbled.

Jillian smirked, "Just a little." She winked.

Ironhide looked amused. "I'll be sure to inform him."

She frowned and folded her arms. "Do it and Will finds out what _you've_ been doing."

"Fine! You win this time."

Jillian only laughed as Annabelle came back downstairs. The dress fit her almost perfectly. "How do you like it?" Jillian asked.

Annabelle's white teeth sparkled from the sunlight coming through the window. "It's a bit small on me, but it's really cute. I like it a lot. Thanks, Jillian."

"Anytime," The older woman replied. "And it's yours to keep, too."

Annabelle smiled as Ironhide sighed. "Alright. I guess we'll be on our way, then." He was about to head for the door and froze when he saw a military Jeep coming to a skidded halt just next to his alternate mode. Will Lennox jumped out and dashed up on the deck. "Is something wrong, Will?" Ironhide asked, startled.

Will nearly jumped, not expecting Ironhide to be right there. "Jesus, you scared me. Have you seen Annabelle? She's not home, when I tried calling her cell phone it said its off the hook-" he froze when Annabelle appeared next to Ironhide. "Annie! Where the hell have you _been_?"

"I've been with Ironhide.." Annabelle admitted. "Where've _you_ been?"

Will's eyes were full of disbelief. "I didn't see you in the truck when Ironhide talked to me twenty five minutes ago."

Annabelle shrugged and put on her fake 'attitude' face, "My stomach wasn't feeling good and I was laying across the back seat. I probably dozed off.."

Will seemed to calm himself down and he took a deep breath. "Alright. Alright. I believe you. I was just worried, sweetie. But what happened to your cell?"

Annabelle was going to be honest, she just wasn't going to tell her dad the entire truth. "Ironhide and I went out last night for a drive and it probably fell out of my pocket or something. I _can_ get another one, dad. I paid for it,"

"And what about last night? You didn't come home at all. Your mother was worried sick," Will asked, folding his arms and giving the same look. He knew how to play her game. Living with her for eighteen years gave him that advantage.

"Ironhide took me out last night and we both fell asleep," She admitted, to Ironhide's horror. He gave her a worried glance, but Will did not see it. Thank Primus..

Will looked somewhat concerned. "You both _fell asleep?_" Even Will was smart enough to see that Ironhide didn't just 'fall asleep'. "Where and do I dare ask _what_ you were doing before you both supposedly 'dozed' off?"

Annabelle gave a look of disgust, "What the hell are you trying to say dad? Ironhide took me to Lake Tahoe last night to watch the sunset for my birthday. He knew I've always wanted to go there to watch it. He's my best friend, dad."

Will pointed to her dress. "And now all of a sudden Jill's clothes are a part of your wardrobe?"

Ironhide nearly had spark failure at that point. He prayed that Annabelle had an excuse good enough for _that _one.

She folded her arms. "I cracked a joke on 'Hide and he threw me in the water for revenge. My clothes were all gross and when we came to see Jillian, she offered it to me. Keep asking dad. I have all the answers," she teased at the end, but her facial expression remained serious.

Will raised an eyebrow, "And what happened to your other clothes?"

"Like I said," Annie began. "they were gross. I threw them away."

Will froze, staring at his daughter as if he'd catch her lying if he looked any harder. Annabelle stood her ground, staring back. Ironhide, was sure he was glitching. Jillian just watched amused. Finally, Will sighed. He could really see no point in making her angry. After all, she had just turned eighteen and he didn't want to ruin it for her. "Honey, I believe you. We were just worried, that's all."

Annabelle still acted angry and Ironhide was beginning to wonder if it _was_ an act. She walked towards Ironhide's alternate mode. Ironhide sighed, "I apologize for giving you a scare, Lennox,"

Will laughed it off. "No biggie. Just making sure she's safe." Will placed a gentle hand on Ironhide's shoulder. "If I can trust her with any man other than myself, it's definitely you, 'Hide." He smiled at Jillian. "Hi, Jill."

Jillian nodded with a smile. "Nice to see you again, Will."

Lennox sighed before turning his head to look into the passenger side of Ironhide. Annabelle looked angry as she leaned her head against her hand, her elbow against the door where the window was. "She's been acting really weird lately when you come into topic."

Ironhide could feel his air vents kick on inside his alternate mode. Annabelle's head looked around curiously, as if wondering how the air could've turned on and why. Then, she looked back at Ironhide. Ironhide stuttered, "R-really? Why do you," he cleared his throat. "why do you think so?"

Instead of answering his question, Will squinted an eye at his guardian. "Are you alright?"

"Will," Ironhide sighed. "I'm fine. I'm just.. not feeling my best lately. I think it has to do with Annie all grown up now. Ready to take on the world for herself."

Will chuckled and patted his friend's back. "That's normal. You've been like a second father to her, so it's instinct to feel the way you do."

Ironhide was slightly disgusted at how Will considered Ironhide a 'father'. Especially after what they've really been doing. Jillian snorted and Ironhide's head snapped in her direction, a ferocious growl escaping his lips. She raised her hands up for her own defense and walked back into her house, a small smirk last seen across her lips.

Ironhide turned his attention back to the Colonel. "I suppose you're right." Then he decided it was time to leave. "Well, we're going to go for a drive for a while. I'll see you later tonight, Will."

Will nodded, "Sounds good big guy. Oh!" He suddenly yelled, digging in his pocket. Ironhide could've touched the damn clouds if he would've jumped any higher. Will pulled out a twenty dollar bill. "Get her something to eat for me, will ya?"

"I'm sure she has money-"

"I know, I know. This is on the house. You know," he chuckled. "It's never a crime to do a little somethin' for your daughter before she permanently moves out and heads to college."

Ironhide surprisingly laughed, despite his nervousness. "I understand Will. I'll do what you ask. See ya around."

Will only watched as Ironhide got inside his alternate mode and backed out of Jillian's yard, disappearing beyond the side of the house. He sighed and figured there'd be no harm in going inside Jillian's and chatting for a bit.

Besides. He knew something was up with Ironhide. Knowing Jillian for years, there was _never_ a time where he couldn't get the information he wanted out of her.

And that wasn't going to change any time soon.

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><p><strong>Okay, so I usually don't ask for reviews, because I like my readers to decide if they wanna type up feedback or not, but I'd really like to know if maybe you have any ideas for me that could improve the contents of the story and make it better, or if you just wanna let me know what you like or even dislike about it. I'm pretty much up for any kind of feedback, as long as its not like a.. 'flame'. Haha. :D Just a suggestion! You don't have to, though! I'll still continue to update when I can. :)<strong>

**Feel free to check out other stories of mine, as well! :D**

**For those of you who have reviewed, thank you so much! Seriously, it makes my friggin' day!**


	4. Bad News

**So, I recently got a green 2000 Ford Ranger and I need a name for her! So, please, if you could do me a huuuge favor, go on my profile and vote on the names I've listed! If you don't like the names I've listed, then please send a message with a unique name that you like! (Note: It has to be female or unisex! :D Also, try to make it unique!) All names will be taken into consideration! (or I'll include them on the poll!)**

**Thank you! :)**

**And thanks for all of your reviews! :D**

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><p>Jillian wasn't expecting anybody to stick around for long, so when she saw Will enter her house, she got a little nervous. Especially when he sat down at her kitchen table without speaking a word at first. "Something wrong?" she asked after a couple seconds of silence.<p>

"You know something," Will pointed a finger at her with a smirk. "I can tell."

Jillian laughed at an attempt to cover up the obvious facial expression she was trying to hide desperately, "Aw, come on Will. They're really good friends. That's all."

"She's been sneaking out of the house with him, Jill," Will sighed.

"She's an adult!" Jillian sounded full of disbelief. "You've were eighteen once! Ironhide is one of the few real friends she _has_. Just let her go, Will. You need to talk to Sarah about this, not me."

Will stood up, realizing he wasn't going to get much out of his friend. He nodded, "I guess you're right. I'll talk to you later, then." He chuckled as he stepped towards the door. "Thanks, Jill,"

"Anytime, Will," she smiled as she waved, before turning back around and continuing her house 'chores'.

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><p>When Will got back to the house, he wasn't surprised to see Annabelle and Ironhide sitting on the ground together. Ironhide was in his massive bipedal mode and they were talking about something, their voices too low for Will to understand. He only sighed and continued for the house.<p>

When he got inside, Sarah was sitting in the living room on the couch, flipping through random television channels. When she made eye contact with Will, she sat the remote down and smiled up at him. He bent down and kissed her once before pulling away, an obvious frown upon his face.

"Are you alright?" Sarah asked, looking concerned as she took a sip of her bottled water nearby.

Will shrugged as he sat down next to her and then he began to wonder. What if Sarah knew about this? After all, it _was_ a woman thing and Annabelle always did go to her mother first when she needed help with problems. Will shifted his upper body so he was facing her better. "is there anything going on between Ironhide and Annie?"

Sarah almost spit out the water she had in her mouth. She placed her hand over her lips and swallowed so hard, it hurt. she coughed, "_What_?" She seemed to stutter and once again, Will knew he had caught yet another woman in the act of keeping a secret. "What do you mean? As in-"

"As in like.. _seeing_ each other behind our backs?" he asked, hoping Sarah would at least tell the truth.

And who was Sarah Lennox if she lied? She sighed and closed her eyes, "Will, she's not seeing him behind our backs-"

"So, just behind _my_ back, then?" Will asked coldly, his eyes slitting into glares.

Sarah's eyes snapped open and she glared daggers right back. If Will wanted a yelling match over something as absurd as their _adult_ daughter having a life of her own, then let the games begin! "Stop it! Why does it matter? She's eighteen for God's sake! And in total honesty, I think she made a damn good choice of picking Ironhide!" She paused, waiting for him to reply, but Will seemed unable to find his words, so Sarah continued. "If anything, I'm _happy_ she at least has common sense when it comes to the male gender and she knows how to pick them!"

Will's mouth formed into a thin line. "Except he's way older than she is and that's just _wrong!_"

"Age is just a number, William," Sarah said, calling him by his first full name. He hated it when she did that. "And Ironhide is mature and being with her makes him happy. I can tell."

"Yeah, he's also trigger-happy," Will mumbled.

"He would defend her with his life!" Sarah argued back, her voice growing in volume as she folded her arms, keeping her glare nice and firm. "And you _know_ that."

"That doesn't make it any less _wrong_!" Will exclaimed. "Being with him is bad for her health anyway. He's a soldier and that can come with serious consequences-"

"Oh," Sarah laughed bitterly. "so I guess being with you is bad for my health. Thanks, Will." She stood up.

"I didn't mean it like _that!_" Will groaned.

"The words came from your mouth, Will," Sarah told him as she walked into the kitchen. "That's enough for me to see that you _did_ mean it like that." before he could protest, she spun around. "What're you gonna do? Confront them and tell them you don't want them seeing each other?"

Will headed for the back door and opened it. "Yes," with a final look at Sarah, he turned around and headed outside, letting the door slam behind him.

Will was so furious, he could've sworn he saw steam rising from his own skin. His temperature must've reached a scorching high and his hands began to sweat. He wasn't sure how he was going to say, but he knew he'd think of something.

Annabelle and Ironhide were still sitting next to one another, laughing and talking, but even seeing their happy faces didn't change Will's mind. He stopped a few feet in front of them, arms folded.

Annabelle's smile turned into a frown rapidly. "What?"

"I know what's going on here, and it needs to end," Will flat out said. Then, he added, "_Now_."

Annabelle and Ironhide exchanged looks before Ironhide spoke next. "Will, I don't know what you mean."

Will rolled his eyes, "Don't play dumb with me, you two. I know you guys are seeing one another. Jillian knows it and Sarah knows it and I caught them both. Your mother already admitted to it," he looked particularly at Annabelle.

"Okay?" Annabelle shrugged. "And why does it need to stop, then?"

"It just shouldn't be happening," he looked at Ironhide. "If it continues, I'm discharging you from the guardianship."

Annabelle stood up at that, putting herself in front of Ironhide. "_What_? You can't do that! That's not fair!"

Ironhide was speechless. He could hardly believe the Colonel's words. Discharged from his duty? He would not have it. If it meant they couldn't see each other, than that was fine. As long as he got to at least continue to insure her safety. "I understand, Will,"

Annabelle looked astonished as she stared up at her guardian/'mechfriend'. "You're _agreeing_ with him?"

"Regardless of whether or not I agree with him, he is considered a leader and I must follow his orders, Annie." Ironhide looked hurt when he told her that, but he knew it was the truth. "Besides, I'd rather us not be personally together than be thousands of miles apart."

Before Ironhide had time to react, Annabelle had already begun to cry and the first thing she could think of to do was run. "Annie!" Will yelled after her, but she would not stop.

"I will go get her," Ironhide offered, getting ready to transform. Will stopped him.

"No," he said as he got into the other car. "I'll get her."

After turning on the car, he put it in drive and peeled down the road, kicking up dirt and dust as he did so. Ironhide could only watch as he drove away.

* * *

><p><strong>Poor Ironhide. : Poor Annie!**

**Again, I know this chapter was short! But I needed to get this out before I bring in the longer ones! I promise!**


	5. Change of Hearts

**I smell conflict in this chapter! ;)**

**Thanks for the reviews! Ima try and send out personal thank you PMs! :D**

* * *

><p>By the time Will had caught up with Annabelle in the car, she had already arrived at the empty park close by, sitting on one of the swings and moving very slowly. The wind blew her hair in her face, shielding her eyes. Will was smart enough to know she would already be crying.<p>

Shutting down the car, he sighed and got out, trying to think of things to say, but nothing came to mind. And you know it's sad when you can't even think of something to say to comfort your own daughter.

As he got closer, he could feel his heart sink as he heard her light sobs and sharp breaths. "Annie?"

When she looked up at him, she growled, "What? You haven't said enough? Come to tell me that you're kicking me out of my home, _too_?"

Will frowned, "I deserve that."

"You deserve a lot more," she admitted, not making eye contact any longer. Her crying had ceased, but Will didn't have to be a therapist to see she was still bothered.

Will sighed as he sat down in the grass in front of the swing set. "What do you want from me, Ann? To tell you that I made up my mind and you can see Ironhide?" At that, she looked up at him. "Well, I'm not." Annabelle growled and looked away again. Will continued, "You don't understand. I know you're eighteen. I know you're entitled to a life and the relationship of your choosing, but Ironhide shouldn't be the person who you're gonna do that with."

"Why?" Annabelle snapped, still refusing to look at her father.

Will groaned. This wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. "_Because!_ He's an extraterrestrial from Cybertron, first of all! Second of all, he's _way_ older than you and thirdly, he's a soldier. He's not gonna be our guardian for _that_ long regardless of whether or not I make him leave. He has duties and leaders to attend to. And like every soldier who goes off to battle, there's always a chance that he may never-"

"Shut up," Annabelle interrupted fiercely, this time not hesitating to shoot her father a dark look. "Shut. _Up._" She stood up from the swing and walked over to Will. Standing about three feet in front of him, she bent down to his level. "Wanna know something, _dad_? I don't care. I don't care that he's an alien. I don't care that he's '_way older than me_', I don't care that he's a soldier and finally, I don't care what you think. If you wanna kick him out, then do it. I'm not gonna stop seeing him and there's not a chance in _Hell_ you're gonna get in the way. I _love_ Ironhide and he loves me and that's all that matters."

She began to walk away, but Will wasn't going to let her. Quickly getting up, he ran in front of her. "I'm not gonna see you get hurt, Annabelle!"

Will was surprised when Annabelle pushed him away from her as hard as she possibly could. "You're the one who's _hurting_ me!" Her breathing was heavier, her eyes were red from the tears. "Just leave me alone."

She pushed aside him and he could only watch her walk away.

* * *

><p>Will had taken the next sixty minutes to sit on the same swing and think. He could do two things: Let his daughter continue to see Ironhide and hate every second of it or discharge him from his guardianship duty.<p>

After giving it an entire hour's thought, he had finally made up his mind. With a sigh, he headed for the car, opened the door, started the engine and left the park, heading home. When he got back to the house and pulled into the drive way, he wasn't surprised to see Annabelle crying against Ironhide's body.

When he got out of the car, Ironhide told Annabelle to stay there and he walked over to the Colonel in his mighty bipedal mode. "You've made her cry, Will."

Will ran a hand down his face. "Ironhide, can we just drop this-"

"I don't _like_ when she cries, _Will,_" Will stepped back when Ironhide drew his cannons, ignoring the human man's comment. They were already glowing bright blue-ish white and Will could feel the heat radiating off of them.

Will glared. Who the hell did Ironhide think he was pulling his cannons out like that? "Stand down, Ironhide."

"Approximately fifteen years ago, I was given the order to protect her," Ironhide's cannons grew brighter. "I'm doing just that."

"To protect her and her _family_," Will corrected rather loudly. "And since when am I a threat? Stand down, Ironhide!"

"Ironhide!" Annabelle yelled, causing the mech to lower his weapons and turn to face her. "Just stop. it's not worth it."

"Not _worth_ it?" Will yelled in total disbelief. "I hope nothing is worth that!" he pointed a finger up at the Cybertronian. "I'm contacting Optimus and having you out of here. you're letting my daughter interfere with your _real_ duty and I'm not tolerating that."

"He'll have to drag me kicking and screaming!" Ironhide argued back, his voice growing so loud in volume, Sarah came running out.

"What's going on here?" she sounded very unhappy.

Will ignored her and Ironhide's comments. "Sarah, get me the phone, please."

"Tell me what's going on, first-"

"Sarah, just please get me the God damn phone," Will growled with his eyes shut, clearly not in the mood.

That made two of them because Sarah folded her arms and gave him an 'oh no you didn't' look. "_No_."

Will growled extremely loudly, making everybody flinch. "Is everybody in this damn house against me?" He furiously walked up to the porch, past Sarah and into the house. Grabbing the phone, he dialed a number and waited. "Epps, get me Optimus on the phone right now."

As he waited, Sarah came storming in the house, grabbed the phone from Will before he could stop her and shut it off. "You better tell me what's going on _right_ now or I'm going to beat the _crap_ out of you with this phone."

Will tried to reach for it, but Sarah refused to give it back. "I'm sending Ironhide back to base. This whole 'Annabelle' love stuff is getting really out of hand!"

Sarah looked full of disbelief. "Are you _kidding_ me? That's what this is about? Let them go, Will! She's old enough to decide for herself! Don't you see what you're doing to her? This isn't you!"

"I'm doing this _for_ her! I don't _care_ if she's eighteen! I don't care if she's twenty-one!" Will yelled back. "I just.." he stopped, placing his hands on his face and sitting down on one of the kitchen chairs. "I'm just afraid."

Sarah sighed and sat on his lap, putting her arms around his neck. "Will, this is a normal feeling. Our daughter's all grown up and she's making her own choices," she kissed his forehead. "It's our job to be there for her and what you're doing isn't helping her at all. She's just as scared as we are, Will."

"Maybe Ironhide's just too perfect for her and that's what scares me," Will admitted, leaning his elbow on the chair's arm while his middle finger rested beneath his nose and his index finger pointed towards his eye against his cheek.

Sarah ran a hand over and over again through his hair. "They really like each other. Hell, they _love_ each other. She's only known him her entire life."

Before Will could respond to that, both Sarah and him jumped up to the sound of Annabelle yelling outside. "You can't leave!"

The two of them dashed outside and Will was surprised to see that Epps and Optimus Prime were out in his backyard. Annabelle was desperately holding on to a piece of metal on Ironhide's ankle.

"What's going on?" Will asked.

Optimus turned to face Will. "I was told you wanted to speak to me on the phone immediately, but Robert here claimed the call dropped."

"I thought the 'Cons were back to their shenanigans again," Epps admitted. "So we came here as fast as we could."

"And now Ironhide has told me he wishes to leave and come back to base?" Optimus sounded confused. "Why is this? Is there an issue?"

Will looked up at Ironhide, who was refusing to make eye contact with anybody. Instead, he simply said, "I don't wish to talk about it. I'd just like to leave."

"Ironhide," Annabelle wept. "Please don't go! This can all be worked out, I promise-"

"Annie," Ironhide whispered, finally making eye contact as he bent down to her level. "If my presence is tearing your family apart, then I do not wish to stay." He gently ran a finger down her face, as if to wipe the tears away. "Colonel Lennox has voiced his decision enough times already. I feel that me being here is only making things worse than better." He stood up again, trying his best to ignore her cries. He turned to Optimus. "I'm retiring my guardianship, Prime."

Optimus, who clearly had no clue as to what was happening, just nodded. "I understand, Ironhide. Will," he turned to Will. "Is this clear with you?"

Will slit his eyes in a glare. He had just gone through talking to Sarah about it, had just realized that maybe his daughter being with Ironhide wasn't a bad thing and now Ironhide was willing.. no.. _more_ than willing to leave her behind and go back to base. All Will could think of was how right he was as he nodded. "You know," he began coldly, receiving a flinch from Ironhide. "I was just about to change my mind and say that you and Annie would be good together after all," Both Ironhide and Annabelle looked at him that time. "But I can see that it's no longer an issue to you. So, yeah. That's clear with me."

Without another word, Will turned around and headed into the house, slamming the door.

"Very well," Optimus sighed. He figured he'd get it out of the weapons specialist later. "Let's roll out. Goodbye Annie, Sarah," with a final nod goodbye, both mechs transformed just after Rob had gotten inside Optimus and drove off down the dirt road, kicking up dust.

Annabelle was left alone, sitting on the dirty road, her hands in her face and tears spilling down her eyes and for once, Sarah didn't know how to comfort her own daughter.

* * *

><p><strong>Ironhide is pretty much an idiot at this point.. WILL THEY EVER BE ABLE TO LIVE IN PEACE TOGETHER? :(<strong>

**Apparently not. xD**


	6. Ironhide Needs You

Optimus sat behind his desk, watching Ironhide as he, too, sat down. "Do you want to tell me what's going on?"

Ironhide sighed and looked away. Why did he feel so embarrassed to tell Optimus what was really happening? He mentally slapped himself. He'd have to shake it off and deal with it. "I got involved with something I probably shouldn't have."

Optimus was a bit confused still, so he pressed the topic on. "You _can_ talk to me, you know?"

Ironhide rolled his optics and cycled his vents. Why, Primus, was it so hard? "Annabelle. I love Annabelle, Prime. There, I said it.." Now he waited for the explosion..

Optimus admitted he was a bit astonished to hear this. He knew the friendship between the two was incredibly strong, but he never would have imagined it would've been anything more than just a friendship.

"Is that why you left?"

Ironhide looked up in surprise at the tone of Optimus's voice. "You.. don't care?"

Optimus chuckled, once again to Ironhide's surprise. The great Prime leaned back into his chair. "Ironhide, there's more you're hiding from me. Tell me the real reason why you left. I'm not just your leader, I'm your friend."

Ironhide, still shocked, wondered if maybe he was _that_ obvious. He stuttered for a moment, "W-well, I mean.. I guess.. I guess I left because.. " he growled at himself. "I left because I felt my presence was tearing the family apart rather than keeping it together. Will and Annabelle were fighting all the time.. and, besides, I think I was just a little.. scared,"

Optimus's optics widened for a split second. The great, terrifying, intimidating, weapons specialist Ironhide was _scared_? Pigs were flying and Hell was freezing over that day for sure. "Scared of what?"

Ironhide was clearly getting annoyed. Optimus couldn't tell if it was at the fact he didn't know what to say, or _he_ was annoying him with all the questions.

"I've never felt this way about a human before," Ironhide admitted. "Do you think I should try and talk it over with her?"

Optimus cycled his vents into a mechanical sigh once more. He leaned forward. "May I at least tell you what I think of it?" Ironhide shrugged and then nodded, so Prime continued. "I understand that your feelings for Annabelle are very high and you want to be with her, but.. humans.. age faster than we do-"

"If she were to pass on before I do," Ironhide began, realizing what he was about to say. "Which is likely, then I will take my life."

Optimus flinched back at this. "You-_what_?"

"Age is not an issue here," Ironhide said, simply put, before standing up. "I would rather be with her than without."

Optimus was dumbfounded as he watched his weapons master exit the office without another word.

* * *

><p>When Ratchet heard the sound of the med bay doors opening, he turned his full attention to them, placing the data pad he had been holding on the desk nearby. He wasn't surprised to see Optimus walking in, but he was a little surprised to see such a disturbed facial expression written on his face plates.<p>

"Can I do something for you, Prime?" Ratchet asked as politely as possible. Today wasn't one of his best days, but he didn't want to anger his leader and one of his closest friends.

"I think you need to talk to Ironhide,"

Ratchet's head jerked back from slight shock. What the slag was he talking about? "For?" Ratchet asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Optimus sighed and ran a hand down his face. "He's back on base for good, apparently, but he brought a predicament with him," he paused. "It seems he and Annabelle Lennox were.. involved with one another."

Ratchet twisted his face in slight disgust. "I can see the predicament," Ratchet scoffed. "Why'd she pick _him_? But anyway, he should know better. Humans age faster than us. He's better off continuing to try for Chromia.. even though Primus knows that'll go _nowhere_."

It took some strength not to laugh at Ratchet's harmless joke, but Optimus was still disturbed from earlier. "Ratchet, he has threatened to take his own life shall she die before him. I think since you're the medic.. maybe you can-"

"Be a therapist, too?" Ratchet finished for him. Then he laughed almost sarcastically. "Prime, I'm just a medic. I treat physical injuries, not mental ones. If you couldn't talk sense to the old coot, then nobody will. Just let him handle this on his own."

"But-"

"In all honesty," Ratchet interrupted. "I think Annabelle is the one you should be talking to."

Optimus sighed. Ratchet was right. There really wasn't a point in talking to the medic, but it was worth a shot. "I understand. Thank you, Ratchet."

Ratchet nodded. "Now get out, would you? I lost my train of thought, thanks to you."

Optimus let out a hearty laugh before exiting the med bay.

* * *

><p>It didn't take long before Optimus was at the Lennox residence, pulling into their massive driveway in his even more massive alternate mode. As soon as Will, who was doing yard work, saw the flamed Peterbilt, he knew something was up. Optimus didn't often show up at his home with information that wasn't important.<p>

"What can I do for you, Prime?" Will asked as he wiped his hands and got closer to the Autobot leader.

Will was expecting Optimus to bring out his holoform, but was a little surprised when the gentle giant transformed. Optimus's bright blue optics stared down almost impatiently at Will. "I'd like to speak with your daughter, if it's no problem, Will?"

Will was hesitant. Annabelle hadn't spoken to either him nor Sarah since Ironhide's departure off their land, but he wasn't going to deny Optimus that request. He nodded with a shrug, "Uh, yeah, sure. Go for it, but she isn't talking to anybody, so good luck. I think she drove down to Lake Tahoe, so, you might wanna start there."

Optimus nodded, "Thank you," after transforming, he rolled out of the drive way and onto the main road that would lead him to Lake Tahoe.

When he got there, the first sign that proved she was there was Lennox's car pulled just a couple hundred feet away from the shore. When he scanned the beach, sure enough, Annabelle was sitting on the beach, alone. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and she rested her chin between her knees.

He activated his holoform. It always saddened Optimus to see a human so upset in life. Especially Annabelle, who, like the other Autobots, knew her since she was just a baby.

"Annabelle?" He questioned as he got closer.

Annabelle jumped, not expecting another presence around her. She turned her head and when she saw who it was, her shoulders slumped and she looked back out towards the lake. "Hi,"

Optimus had to admit he was satisfied to get that much out of her, but still, he knew he needed to continue to press her into talking to him. "Um," he began, almost sounding nervous. It wasn't everyday he was being a therapist to a human teenager.. well, considering she was eighteen, he guessed 'newly adult'. "I think you need to talk to Ironhide, Annie,"

It was then Annabelle did make eye contact again. "Why?" she shrugged. "He left me. There's no point."

Optimus slumped on his axles and his holoform moved closer to Annabelle. He sat next to her. "I understand how you must feel right now," he began. "I, too, was walked out on once."

Annabelle snapped her head to his direction. "By who?" She almost sounded full of disbelief. _Optimus Prime was walked out on?_ _Who in their right mind would walk out on Prime?_ She thought to herself.

"It was many, many years ago," Prime explained. "when I was known as Orion Pax and had a mate named Ariel."

Annabelle squinted an eye in confusion. "A mate? You're spark mated?"

Optimus chuckled and shook his head. "No. We weren't bonded officially, but we considered each other mates."

"You mean like how humans have girlfriends and boyfriends but aren't married?"

Optimus thought about it for a moment. Yeah, he guessed that sounded good enough. He nodded, "Sure." he smiled. "Anyway, later, I was reconstructed and from then on, known as Optimus Prime. Ariel, well, " he smirked. "she would later be known as Elita One."

Annabelle's eyes widened. "You and Elita? I didn't know that. What happened?"

"War got crazy," Prime explained. "I tried so hard to be with her, but fate always intervened and would drag us further apart than we wanted. It eventually got to the point where she just gave up permanently."

"Oh," Annabelle slumped her shoulders again. She looked down, clearly she felt bad for Optimus. "Are you okay?"

Prime smiled when she looked up at him with concerned eyes. "I will live. But, I've heard a little about Ironhide's and your situation."

The young human sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, everybody has, I guess. I just don't see why he's making a big deal about everything."

"Annie," Optimus sighed. "Ironhide's greatest fear is losing you. He.." he paused and Annabelle gave him all her attention. She could tell he was holding something back. "He doesn't understand, and I don't think you do either, that humans and cybertronians age differently. Ironhide will live much, much longer than you will."

Annabelle looked away. "I know."

Optimus sighed, "But, he told me that if you were to die before he would, he'd take his life as long as it meant he'd never be away from you." The young adult's eyes began to water at that. Optimus focused his own heavy, saddened eyes on her. "Would you really want him to go that far?"

Annabelle understood exactly where Optimus was coming from. Hell, for the first time, she understood where somebody other than herself was coming from. She shook her head. "No," she took a heavy breath, her cries becoming a bit harder just thinking about it.

Without a warning, Optimus found his holoform being tightly wrapped in between two small, but powerful arms. Not being used to something like that, he slowly placed a gentle, comforting hand on her back. "It's alright, Annabelle. If you ever feel like you need somebody to talk to, please feel free to come to me whenever you need. I'll put any work aside to help you. But for now, Ironhide needs you the most."

Annabelle only nodded, her face gently buried into his shirt as the two of them sat there together.

* * *

><p><strong>Awes. Optimus is such a sweetheart. ^.^ I wish he lived with me.<strong>


	7. Do You Love My Daughter?

**I'm sooo sorry for the late update! :( Hopefully this makes up for it!**

* * *

><p>Ironhide sat at the target range, watching as multiple targets appeared, disappeared, re-appeared and then disappeared again. As if they were playing peek-a-boo with him. Taunting him. Teasing him. He growled and shut down his cannons. Fifty-three shots; all misses. Since when did he miss a target he aimed for?<p>

Now, he guessed.

He rubbed his face in his hands, hoping to just wipe his thoughts away, but nothing ever worked. Not even twelve cups of high-grade could cure his processors. Not even Ratchet's words of wisdom. Nothing.

He closed his optics; his only medicine imagining her voice in his head. "Ironhide," Oh, how he missed that voice. "Ironhide." His optics glared open. Okay, now it was just getting annoying. "Ironhide." He slapped a hand to his head and growled. _Get out of my head!_

"Ironhide!"

With a jump, he spun his upper torso around. Looking around, he saw nothing. Then, he lowered his optics and they widened when he saw the thin, female-frame standing there. "_Annie_?" He turned his entire body around this time. "What are you doing here?"

Annabelle flinched at his harsher tone. "I," she paused, thinking about the conversation she had with Optimus earlier. "I came because I feel we really need to talk about this."

He averted his optics away from her eyes and that alone hurt her more than words could describe. He sighed hard, "What we did was wrong. I am your guardian. I shouldn't have let my feelings get the best of me."

"Why do you even bother saying that?" Annabelle asked. "Just admit it. You're lying. You don't think it's wrong. You're more than my guardian and you _did_ want your feelings to get the best of you. You know how I know this?" She paused, waiting for an answer. When she didn't get one, she continued. "because I feel the same exact way. Optimus told me what you said." Tears fell down her cheeks. Quickly wiping them away, she placed comforting hands against his armor. "And trust me, that's the last thing I'd _ever _want you to do for me."

For once, Ironhide's spark sank. Annabelle could've sworn she saw a tiny drop of lubricant slide down his face, but with a blink of her own eyes, it was gone.

"I just can't imagine living in a world where you're not there."

"That's how I feel every single damn time you go on missions, but I never once threatened my life if you ever did die." He growled at that, but it wasn't because he was angry at her, it was because he was frustrated about everything. He wished he could pack every single problem away and hide them forever, but he couldn't. Wanting to transform and bring out his holoform, he stood up to do so, but fragile hands stopped him. "Don't. I'd rather I talked to you in your true form, rather than your fake one."

"Fake?" He repeated, looking a little hurt than shocked.

"You know what I meant," she told him, her tone almost warning. Closing her eyes to sigh, she re-opened them and folded her arms. "If I would've know turning eighteen would be so damn hard, I wouldn't act my age. I thought that I'd have more freedom. I thought that we could _finally_ be together with no problems. We could show our love for one another in front of my parents and they would be _happy_ for us. Daddy cares about me a lot, Ironhide. I know he hurt us both, but I think he's scared, too."

"So, what are you saying?" Ironhide asked. "That we continue to see one another in secret? I don't want any more secrets, Annabelle. I just want.." he paused for a brief second and then sighed out the last word. "_you_."

Annabelle paused for a moment, catching her breath, especially after that last word he told her. Finally, she did walk closer to him and he gave her his full attention even more than he already was.

"Well, first things first; I say that you come back to being our guardian," Annabelle smiled. "And secondly, I say we talk to Dad and Mom and try and figure this all out. Okay?"

Ironhide bent down to her level and nodded. He did his best to smile back, despite the pain that still lurked in the darkness of his mind. "Okay, Annie."

* * *

><p>As Sarah did the dishes, she just so happened to look up and out the kitchen window when she dropped the bowl she was cleaning on the floor. "<em>Will<em>," she gasped.

The Colonel looked up at her, "What?"

Sarah turned around, ignoring the bowl on the floor next to her foot. "Annabelle is outside."

Will shrugged once. "She lives here, sweetheart."

Sarah swallowed. "Ironhide is with her."

That caught Will's attention and he stood up abruptly, walking over to the backdoor. He walked outside and folded his arms, taking in the sight before him. Sure enough, like Sarah said, Annabelle and Ironhide were outside, both looking at Will.

"Dad," Annabelle began cautiously, stepping forward.

"What does he want?" Will asked without hesitation, making Annabelle flinch.

"He wants-"

"_I_ want," Ironhide cut the girl off quickly, stepping forward in his massive bipedal mode. "to come back. To make my function not just the weapons specialist, but the Lennox family guardian."

At that point, Sarah had come out of the house and was standing next to her husband, listening intently to the conversation. "Why?" Will asked. "Don't you think you hurt her enough?"

"_Dad_," Annabelle spoke up.

"It's okay, Annie," Ironhide waved at her. The mech turned his head back to her father. "Annabelle and I are trying to.. work things out," he looked confused at his own choice of words. "And that it was I want the most. To work things out not just with her, but you, too."

"You hurt her pretty damn bad," Will began. "And as her father, I'm entitled to be pissed at you for as long as I want." Though it seemed like a joke, everybody kept a good poker face, knowing Will was _dead_ serious.

"I know-"

"_Do_ you?" Will's voice had gotten more vicious and a bit higher in pitch. "Do you, Ironhide? I understand how it feels to be in love, Ironhide. I was and still am to this day. I get what it feels like when your emotions cloud your brain and your heart leads you to a point of no return. Do you love my daughter, Ironhide? Do you feel that way about her, because if you do, I need to know _now_."

The metal-giant was stunned. Those questions had caught him off guard and Annabelle looked up at him, waiting for his answer. Standing straighter than he'd ever done, Ironhide's blue optics lit like fire and even Will had to take a small step backwards at the intensity. "Colonel Lennox, my spark races for nobody else but Annabelle. When I forget what I'm fighting for, she reminds me. Sometimes I believe she is the reason I survived the many battles on this planet. I'd rather be with nobody if not her and if I can't have her, then I will be forever companionless."

The corner of Annabelle's mouth lifted and then lifted even more to bloom a full, beautiful smile. Even Sarah was beaming happiness for her daughter.

Will, on the other hand, kept the atramentous look on his face as if he were a professional at it. With folded arms, he nodded once and turned around to go back in the house.

"We'll see."


End file.
